Charter tumbles on mixed Q2 results and continued subscriber losses

Charter shares sank over 12% in early trading Friday after the telecom giant reported mixed Q2 results, beating on revenue but falling short on earnings as internet and video subscriber losses continued.

Earnings came in at $9.18 per share, below Wall Street’s $9.58 estimate. Adjusted EBITDA rose just 0.5% to $5.69 billion.

Revenue ticked up 0.6% to $13.8 billion, in line with forecasts, fueled by a 25% jump in mobile revenue and modest internet growth. That helped offset continued softness in video and voice, which both saw customer losses, though at a slower pace than last year.

Charter lost 117,000 internet subscribers and 80,000 video customers during the quarter. While both declines were milder than the same quarter a year ago, Charter continues to face heightened competition from wireless carriers like AT&T.

Earlier this year, Charter struck a $34.5 billion deal to acquire Cox Communications in an attempt to defend its broadband business. The company added 500,000 mobile lines in Q2, down slightly from 557,000 a year ago.

Prior to the move, Charter shares were up over 8% year to date.